The Letter
by Drachesky
Summary: When a letter arrives with a mysterious photograph, Danny forces Steve to share the story of the photograph with the rest of the team.
1. Chapter 1

The letter arrived the same day as the barbecue that Steve had planned as a celebration for Grace's birthday. She was too old for either Danno or Uncle Steve to be invited to her party with her friends two days ago (the two partners were no longer as cool as when she was only 10), but that hadn't stopped them from planning a small celebration of their own. It had been a while since the team had gotten together outside of work, and Steve justified the gathering as some well-deserved R&R after a long series of tough cases. As he readied the steaks in the kitchen, Danny came through with beer and a stack of letters.

"You got mail," he called on his way to the back yard. "Leaving it on your… huh."

Steve looked up at the sudden silence. " 'Huh'? 'Huh' what, Danny?" he called out.

"This letter," came his friend's voice from the living room.

Steve swung his hands over the sink to rinse the raw steak juice off. "Opening other people's mail is a federal offense, Danny," he called.

"This one has my name on it," Danny returned defensively. "Well, both our names," he muttered quietly.

"Your name on it? With my address?" Steve turned off the water. "Danny?" Steve quickly dried his hands and followed his partner through the living room and out the back door where the others had gathered around the grill. Danny had paused a few feet away from the group, the contents of the letter now in his hand. The others, sensing something was up, gathered around.

"What's wrong?" Kono asked immediately.

"Bad news, brah?" Chin followed.

Their concerns were cleared when Danny looked up grinning. He passed the envelope and letter over the Steve, keeping a small photograph for himself. Steve glanced at the address. He skimmed the letter. Then he saw the photo. His eyes narrowed.

"Give me that."

Danny sidestepped his hasty swipe and moved toward the safety of the rest of the team. "What's the problem, Steve?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. "Afraid I might drop this?" He waved the photograph about, pretending to hand it to Kono. "Afraid Kono might see it? Or Grover?"

"Danny… please." Steve was pleading, but the damage had been done. Kono, curious and unable to resist, snatched the photo from Danny's willing fingers. A wide smirk broke out on her face as she passed it to Chin, who handed it to Catherine.

"Is that _you_ , Uncle Steve?" Grace had come up behind Catherine from the beach and was now peering around her at the photograph in hand. Steve groaned in humiliation. "That looks like it hurt," she commented, eyes wide.

"Oh, it hurt," Danny confirmed. "His pride more than anything else. I'm not sure it ever completely recovered."

Steve glared at them all, feeling that this ganging-up was entirely unfair, and he was ready to abandon the steaks and go on a long swim when Chin pressed a cold beer into his hand. "What's the story, brah? You can't just show us a picture like that without giving the story."

"Don't leave us hanging, boss," Kono said, doing her best to pull an innocent puppy face, but her eyes were twinkling.

Steve scowled over her head at Danny who shrugged and said "If you don't tell the story, I will."

"Fine." Steve fetched the steaks, positioned himself by the grill while the others gathered around, and began…


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note** : Super, super short update, sorry!

There are 2 things I'm really horrible at doing: writing endings, and writing good endings (both chapter and story endings). The goal this summer is to fix both problems. (I'm actually horrible at lots of things, but those 2 are the focus right now.) Every story I post this summer already has the ending written, but I need your help in improving them. If the chapter or story ending feels too abrupt, unfinished, etc, please let me know. I need constructive feedback!

Also, thanks to those of you who decided to try an untested author's first story! I appreciate the reviews and follows and am looking forward to hearing more from you!

7 years earlier

Steve crouched behind the large tree at the edge of the property and surveyed the dilapidated shack of a house ahead of him. All quiet. Just a truck parked on the gravel out front. The main road was hidden behind him in the trees. There was no sign of movement inside the house, but the owner of the gas station down the street had identified Carlo Gutierrez as the suspect and Steve was taking no chances. The man had killed two people already. Danny and Steve had found his car by accident while following up on a lead and had tailed him here. There was no doubt in either of their minds that they needed to take him now: Gutierrez was preparing to flee the island and it would take at least 40 minutes for any reinforcements to reach this remote part of Oahu.

Steve glanced again at the map of the area on his cell phone. There was just one building at the end of the gravel drive with dense jungle surrounding it and the steep ridge hovering nearby. Much to Danny's displeasure, they hadn't called for backup, Steve insisting that they didn't have enough time. "You're my backup, Danny," Steve had thrown the familiar line at him before flashing a quick grin and disappearing into the dense foliage on the south side of the house. Danny had sighed, rolled his eyes, and worked his way around to the north.

Now Steve crouched behind a stand of banyan trees at the edge of the clearing and waited for his partner's signal. "You ready, partner?" he asked softly into the com.

 _"Almost there."_

Steve could hear twigs and branches snapping over the piece in his ear and winced. "Can you be a little louder, Danny? I don't think he hears you yet." He was only partially jesting.

" _Can you call for real backup for once?_ "

Steve grinned and slid his gun out of the holster in preparation for Danny's signal. "Only when I need it."

Danny mumbled something incoherent and continued his violent crashing through the edge of the forest. Steve waited tensely, eyes on the house in case Gutierrez heard his partner and decided to investigate. " _Ok, I'm ready_."

Steve nodded. "On my mark. 3… 2…"

He heard a noise overhead and looked up.

"What the…"

Then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay; life gets in the way sometimes. Or, in this case, uncooperative Python programs. Ok, so we get to see Steve being all big and bad so much of the time that I wanted to see him in a bit of a different situation. I started thinking: who's the least likely person who could still realistically take down a SEAL? Don't know how good this is, but I had fun with it. Don't know how good this is, but I had fun with it. Also, I don't know much about guns and my usual expert is on duty and unavailable, so any mistakes are mine.**

Steve hurt. His head hurt, his arms hurt, his back hurt… As he slowly struggled toward consciousness, he kept his eyes closed and tried to take stock of his body. He was mostly upright, which was a pleasant surprise, but bound, which was not. His wrists were wrapped in rope and pulled high and tight behind him, forcing him to bend forward to keep his shoulders from popping out of socket. He felt something rough against his lower back, pushing against his shirt and chaffing the skin… _a tree_ , he realized… and his feet were cuffed behind it. The fact that he could feel the bark along his back indicated his vest had been removed.

The last thing he remembered, or that he _thought_ he remembered, had been a-

 _No,_ he interrupted himself. _That can't be right_.

"I know you're awake."

Steve stiffened slightly at the voice. _I was right,_ he noted. Then a second thought followed immediately on the first. _This is going to be humiliating._ He cracked one eye open and was rewarded with a splitting headache from one ear to the other.

"My step dad does that," the voice continued. "He tries to pretend he's still asleep so I'll go and fix him something. But his breathing changes, just like yours, and I know he's awake."

Steve's breaths were rapid and shallow now as he tried to force the headache down.

"I'll bet your head hurts pretty bad, too," the voice mused. "You here for my step-dad?"

"What… is… his… name?" Steve breathed carefully between each word.

"Kimo Kalani."

Steve gingerly shook his head and hissed when the pain tightened. "No. Not here for him." He needed to open his eyes again. He squinted, blinking slowly, and was rewarded with a watery image of a girl crouched on the ground, barefoot, in shorts and a dirty blue T-shirt. His vest and everything from his cargo pockets were scattered unceremoniously on the leaves around her while she poked through his equipment. Her dark hair hung in a single braid down her back. As the vision swam, Steve quickly closed his eyes again. _Caught by a kid._ The team would never let him live it down. He could feel his ears reddening just thinking about it. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a few minutes."

 _Bested by a little girl_ , he thought glumly. _At least Danny hasn't shown up yet._ There was a chance that Danny was still on the other side of the house, waiting for his signal. Or that Danny had come searching but hadn't them yet. If Steve could just get free before his partner found him… He twisted his arms, testing the ropes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Steve paused.

"My step-dad showed me how to do that. You won't get free and you'll probably pull your arm out. And…" There was a rustling movement and something hard and heavy prodded his shoulder. "I'll hit you again if you do."

Just based on her size alone, Steve wasn't sure that she could do much damage. But she _had_ knocked him unconscious. He tilted his head away from the bat or whatever it was and listened to her sort through the items he had hastily stuffed in his pockets earlier that afternoon. Normally, he would have grabbed a couple of grenades, but now he was suddenly thankful that he had left them in the office. A new noise suddenly reached his ears. A quiet noise, but one he knew very well. His eyes snapped open.

The girl hovered nearby, his gun in her right hand, empty holster in her left. Was the safety on? His vision was too blurry to tell. His SIG didn't have a safety, but this was his backup weapon. His eyes roamed the ground, searching for his SIG, but snapped back to her when she pointed the gun in his direction. _Don't agitate her_ , he thought, watching the gun swing away to point at tree nearby. He licked his lips drily, trying to decide what to say. She was small, he guessed about 12 years old, and well under 5 feet tall. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed Danny. Children were Danny's area of expertise. Danny would use his father voice, say just the right thing…

"So, if you aren't here for my step-dad, why are you here?" she interrupted his thoughts. "Why are you sneaking up on my house? Are you here to rob us?" The gun swung back in his direction as she spoke and his vision cleared enough to see that the safety was definitely not on.

"Rob you? No, no, I'm a cop." He nodded to the weapon still pointed at his chest. "You should put the gun down."

"If you're a cop, where's your badge?" she asked, still holding the gun.

Steve glanced at his empty belt and suddenly regretted his rash decision to crawl through an especially dense patch of brush on the way to the house. "It must have fallen off."

"You don't have any ID- I already checked your pockets."

God, she was thorough. "My ID is in my car. I can show you…"

"You don't need to- I have the keys," and she dangled them in front of his face.

"Ok, then go get my ID. It's in the glove compartment."

She cocked her head and gave him a funny look. "No. You might escape."

"Escape?" He could barely keep himself upright. The strain on his shoulders was almost unbearable and the pain from where she had clobbered him threatened to make his head explode. "I'm not going to escape: you have my gun, the keys to my handcuffs, my knife…"

"Your partner," she said simply.

Steve noticed then that his earpiece was missing. Not missing, rather, but she was wearing it, stuck awkwardly at an angle in her left ear. He wondered if Danny was talking to her, and what Danny might have said to her. "My partner is Detective Williams. He's also a cop. If you'll just set the gun down," because she was making him _very_ nervous, waving it about, "and wait a few minutes, he'll be here soon and he can explain everything." Steve hoped he had spoken loudly enough that Danny could hear him over the earpiece.

The girl sat still and chewed on this piece of information for a minute. "What if he's not a cop?" She pointed the gun at Steve's chest again. "What if he's a bad guy like you?"

Steve eyed the gun warily and decided to try a different tactic. "What's your name?" he asked, trying to make his voice soft like Danny's when he was talking to Grace.

"Emily."

"Ok, Emily. Let's pretend that you're right: let's pretend I'm a bad guy. I've done bad things. You don't want to let me go and I understand that. But," and he looked pointedly at the gun, "if you accidentally shoot me, even if I am a bad guy, you can get into a lot of trouble." She hesitated and he pressed his advantage. "You could also get hurt. Accidents have happened before. There's a small lever on the side of the gun called the safety. No, other side. Yes, that. If you flick that, it will help keep both of us safe. I'm tied up here, I can't hurt you."

She stared at him doubtfully, then thumbed the safety on.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief and tried to adjust his weight to take some of the tension off his shoulders.

"So… if I shoot it now…?" Emily was turning the gun back and forth in her hand, the barrel haphazardly swinging in Steve's direction again.

"Don't. Accidents have happened before."

"With the safety on?"

"With the safety on." Steve watched her carefully set the gun on her knees and wondered where the hell his partner was. He wasn't sure how much of their conversation Danny could overhear through their coms, but he hoped it was enough for his partner to realize that Steve wouldn't be storming the cabin any time soon. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped uncomfortably down his nose as the sun peaked above the trees. He closed his eyes as his head throbbed. "Do you live here, Emily?"

"Shouldn't you know that if you're a cop?"

She had a point. "Normally, yes. We do a lot of research at the office before we make a raid. But sometimes," and he squinted his eyes open so that he could meet hers, "sometimes we don't have time to do all of our research. Like today. We found a very bad, very dangerous man, and we followed him here. His name is Carlo Gutierrez." He searched her face for some sign of recognition, but she looked blankly back.

"Who is he?"

"He was a thief who took some money from his boss." Steve closed his eyes again. "When his boss found out, Gutierrez got scared and ran. He killed two people while trying to get away from us today."

"And you think he's here?" Emily said slowly.

Steve nodded. "I also think it's very important that you don't go anywhere near the house. I don't want him to see you and try to hurt you."

She thought about this for a minute. "What about your partner?"

Steve didn't quite follow her line of reasoning. "What about him?"

"Will Carlo Guy Terrace try to hurt him if he finds him?"

Steve had to smile at her mispronunciation. "Yes, but that's not going to happen."

"Why not?"

"Because his partner," Danny said, stepping out from between the trees, "is going to do the smart thing and call for appropriate backup before chasing down a dangerous and deranged criminal in the middle of the jungle." Danny popped his badge off his belt and proffered it to the girl. "That idiot may have lost his badge with his common sense, but I still have mine. Detective Danny Williams, 5-0."

"Hi Danno," Steve greeted him wearily. He closed his eyes again as the headache roared back with a vengeance. Danny raised an eyebrow and turned back to Emily.

"I've never heard of 5-0," the girl said skeptically.

"It's like the police crossed with SWAT," Danny said, squatting beside her and holding out the picture ID in his wallet. "See that? That's the Honolulu Police Department logo. We work with them. And this," he flipped the wallet over to show the small picture tucked inside, "is my daughter Grace. She's several years younger than you, though."

"Oh." She studied the badge, the ID, and looked carefully into the detective's face. "Ok," she said, visibly relaxing.

"Why don't I just take that gun there…" Danny gently edged his partner's gun from her grasp. With the weapon secured, he looked back at Steve. "Is this your doing?" he asked Emily, admiring her handiwork.

"Um… yeah. Am I in trouble? I didn't know he was a cop."

"Oh, he's more than that- he's a US Navy SEAL." Danny couldn't help smirking at his partner's predicament and the girl's efficiency. Crouching down, he carefully ran his hands over Steve's face and body, checking for injuries. There was a nasty lump on the back of his partner's head, but no other obvious injuries. "Steve? You with us? Anything broken?"

Steve shook his head. "Head hurts," he murmured.

"You know what two words I'm thinking right now, partner?" Danny asked, sitting back on his heels. "Hog tied."

"Shut up," Steve growled, his eyes still closed. "Just get these ropes and cuffs off."

Emily moved to release him, but Danny held her back. "Oh, you've had worse," he told Steve. Now that he was satisfied that his partner wasn't seriously injured, he was in no hurry to leave. While they were talking, he fished about in his pocket for something. To Steve's dismay, however, he brought out not the keys to the cuffs, but his cell phone. "So tell me," Danny casually asked the girl as he flicked the screen on, "how tall are you? 4'8"? 4'9"?"

"Um, 4 foot 9 and a half," the girl said, nervously scuffing the ground with her foot. She still wasn't sure if she was in trouble for conking the tall man with her bat. "Did I do something wrong?"

Danny smiled at her with his best father smile, the one he saved for Grace. "No, sweetie, not at all. You saw a dangerous looking man and you tried to keep yourself safe."

Steve rolled his eyes but that brought a stinging pain to his likely-concussed head and he quickly closed them again. "Can we get me out of this?" The strain on his arms and shoulders was starting to affect his chest and it hurt to breathe.

"One second." Danny held up a finger and readied the phone. "Emily, have you ever been on a safari? No? Have you seen pictures?"

Steve groaned. He knew exactly where this was going. "Danny," he grunted behind closed eyes, "if you tell _anyone_ at the office about this-"

"You'll what? Kill me? Going to be hard to do with you all trussed up like that." Steve could feel Danny's grin through his closed eyelids. "So," Danny returned his attention to the girl, "on a big game safari, after the hunter has taken down the fearsome wild beast, the hunter usually poses with the downed animal before taking the carcass home as a trophy. You may not realize it, but you just bagged one of the most fearsome beasts known to man- the deadly Sealanderthal. _Stop groaning, Steven_. Now, we can't let you take home this fearsome beast- his sorry carcass has to come with me, unfortunately," Danny added under his breath, "but we can at least get a nice photograph of you with the bagged bounty." He showed the girl just where to stand and how to hold the bat she had used on his head. "Ok, Steve, open your eyes."

"Not going to happen, Danny," Steve grunted, making a face and holding up a certain finger behind the tree trunk, even though Danny couldn't see it.

"It will only take a minute, _Steven_." Danny paused. "Or I can just come back later."

Steve sighed and cracked his eyes open, squinting in the bright sunlight. The girl was crouching next to him with the club in hand and an uncertain smile on her face. Danny stood a few feet away with the phone, beaming encouragingly. "Come on, big grin!" he said, more to her than to Steve. Her face finally opened in a wide smile and Danny snapped the picture.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

 **So this story was short, I know. Sorry I don't update frequently. Got carried away with open water training. Working on the next couple of stories now.**

Present Day- Epilogue

"And then he cut me loose," Steve finished, scooping more potato salad onto his plate. "I was actually surprised, Danny, that you kept it a secret all these years."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you think I can't keep a secret? I'll have you know, Mr. Classified, that I have kept plenty of secrets from you over the years. It's not nice to spill secrets- it's downright rude, in fact- so I did what any normal, friendly person would do. I mean, what can I say? I'm a nice guy." He caught Grover rolling his eyes. "Ok, so I _was_ a nice guy until a certain Neanderthal showed up and ruined my life. Gutierrez was one of our first cases. We'd been working together for barely a week, and all I knew at that point was that my life had been turned upside down by some big, bad military guy who showed up, stole my crime scene, hijacked my investigation, and got me shot in less than 24 hours. I didn't want to piss him off. And… well, I felt sorry for him. But that was before I got to know him."

Steve's mouth was too full to argue, so he resorted to kicking Danny's chair with his foot.

Kono couldn't suppress a smile at the thought of the 6'1" Navy SEAL being taken out by a young girl. "How tall was she again? 4 foot 9?"

"Yup!" Danny put in, clearly enjoying his partner's discomfort. "Is there SEAL training for being attacked by a 12-year-old? Cause I think you might have missed that day- hey!" He ducked as a fork of potato salad flew over his shoulder and landed somewhere in the sand.

"And she took you down?" Kono asked, returning her attention to Steve.

"Don't remind me." Steve subconsciously rubbed his neck and tried to ignore his ears, which had flushed red. "Pass the pineapple," he said gruffly, clearing a space on his plate between the steak and salad.

"So where is the girl now?" Chin pressed. He looked again at the photograph. If she was 12 years old then, she would be nearly college age now...

"West Point," Danny said, holding up the remaining contents of the envelope. "She just got her acceptance letter and wrote to thank us and invite us to R-Day."

Kono winked at Danny as Steve slid a steak onto her plate. "I'm glad to see one of you had a good influence on her."

Danny shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'd completely forgotten about the case until I saw the letter today. I don't even know how she knew Steve's address… unless…" His eyes narrowed and he turned to his partner. "You've been writing her, Steven."

Steve shrugged the accusation aside. "She was talented and needed guidance."

"And you became her mentor? God help us," Danny shook his head, "We don't need two of you crazy Ninjas running around."

"What happened to the suspect?" Chin asked, efficiently breaking up their pending argument.

"Tracked him down in the jungle," Danny said. "He'd apparently gone straight into the woods without any food or water, ended up drinking from a stream a few hours later, and… well, you can guess what happened next."

Grace looked puzzled. "What happened, Danno?"

"Well, sweetie, let's just say that Mr. Gutierrez was almost happy to see us." Danny squeezed his arm around his daughter's shoulders. "You see, the stream water on this pineapple-infested rock isn't safe to drink and if you _do_ drink it, like Mr. Gutierrez did, then you end up with, um… vomiting and…diarrhea and…" He faltered, remembering coming upon their suspect with his pants down, hunched under a bush, and he looked around the group for help.

Kono came to his rescue. "What happened to Emily after she untied you, boss?"

"She went back home, finished school, and applied to West Point," Steve summarized the past 6 years with a shrug. "She wrote me first to apologize; I think she felt really guilty about the whole thing. I wrote her back, and we kept it up, you know?"

Chin pointed a fork at the letter. "Are you going to accept her invitation to R-Day?"

"What is R-Day?" Grace wanted to know.

" 'Reception Day'," Catherine informed them. "New cadets say good bye to their families, receive their uniforms, have their hair cut, learn how to salute, do a fitness test… it's very busy. The day finishes with the Oath Ceremony on the parade grounds. Then the new cadets…" She stopped as the group stared at her in surprise. "What?" she said defensively.

Steve had paused, steak on his fork, mouth open.

"That was very… informative," Danny voiced for the rest of the team.

Catherine stared at their surprised faces and blushed. "I may have applied in high school," she admitted.

"Traitor!" Steve said immediately, recovering from his initial shock.

" _I don't understand?_ " Grace whispered to her father.

" _West Point is Army. The Army and the Navy don't like each other_ ," Danny whispered back.

"I thought your father was in the Navy?" Kono asked, confused.

"Yes. And I was a rebellious teenager." Catherine pushed her plate back and grimaced, her eyes somewhere in the past. "I don't even remember what I did that started it, or what the punishment was. I just remember my dad being angry- _very_ angry- for a long time. I hated him and I finally decided that joining the army would be the perfect revenge." She chuckled darkly.

" _Word of advice, boss_ ," Kono whispered in Steve's ear, " _don't ever make her mad_."

"But you eventually made it to the Navy…?" Grover prodded.

She nodded. "Dad and I made up during Christmas and I ended up transferring to the Naval Academy. Finished out my 4 years, joined Naval Intelligence, met this cute sailor," she indicated Steve with a wink, "and you know the rest."

"The parts that aren't classified, anyway," Steve added, but he was smiling.

"So," Grover redirected the conversation, "are you two going?"

"You should go," Catherine advised. "It's good for the cadets to have support from friends and family. Even if you'll only see her for a few minutes before the 60-second farewell, it will be appreciated. Especially if she doesn't have good family at home."

Steve glanced at his partner. "Danny?"

"Road trip with you to the east coast?" Danny shrugged. "Sure, why not? Emily needs a positive male role model in her life to counteract all the SEALness explosions and stuff you've probably brainwashed her with."

Kono snorted into her drink and came up coughing. Chin serenely raised an eyebrow and nodded his approval of the statement.

"And," Danny brightened suddenly, "we'll be in my neck of the woods, which means pizza, _real_ pizza, with none of this pineapple crap." He ducked as another edible missile zoomed in his direction.

"Are you going to keep writing her at West Point?" Catherine asked, remembering her own experience many years ago.

Steve hadn't actually thought about it, but he responded instantly. "Yeah, sure, absolutely. She hasn't had an easy life, but she's a good kid, smart, strong, and I think she'll do really well."

"I'm sure she will, boss," Kono said with a smile while Grover nodded in agreement. "I know she will."

 **A/N**

 **See, I suck at writing endings. Positively hate this whole section. Feedback appreciated. Next story: I'm working on several more and can't decide between a story featuring a unicorn, the governor, and lots of bullets, or a longer story with some Danny whump.**


	5. EpiloguePreview

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and favorites! Had a blast working on that story and I have several more under construction. In the meantime, though, I got to thinking about Emily and thought about a side story. It would be slower and pretty much like this: a series of letters between her and Steve that show what happened to her, her step-dad, and her life in Hawaii that influenced her decision to go to West Point. So, here's a preview of that since I have nothing else to offer at the moment. (One would think that in this heat wave, I would spend more time writing in air conditioning and less time swimming in the river, but no.)**

 **PS: I think I fixed the formatting issues in this one. If not, let me know.**

Dear Mr. McGarrett,

I hope you're ok. I got really worried about you last week because you looked really bad when Mr. Williams took you to the car and now I'm afraid I really hurt you. I went to the police station yesterday to see you and apologize for nocking you out and I met this nice guy named Mr. Lukela and he said you were in the hospital. Did I break your skull? Did your arms come out? My step-dad said that could happen, but I didn't think I tied your arms that tight. I'm so sorry if your arms came out! I hope you're ok. Mr. Lukela gave me a card with your adress on it. He said I could call you but I don't have a phone. I hope this letter is ok for an apology. I don't have any more money to take the bus downtown again. I wanted to apologize at your office, but the letter will have to do. If you are hurt, I understand if you need to press charges. That happened to Mika last month when he tried to join the gang and ended up punching a cop. But if you decide to arest me, please don't arest me at my step-dad's place. Cause he won't be happy. Or my school. But my bus stop is ok- it's on _ Street. Just wait until the other kids are gone.

I gotta go before my step-dad wakes up.

Bye,

Emily Kalani

From:

To: marymainlander

Hi Mary,

It's been a while since I last called, I know. I'm wrapping up a case with a little 12-year-old girl and I need you to take a look at my response. I think it's too short. I think you'd like this kid. She reminds me a bit of you, actually, like the time you knocked me out of the tree, I broke my arm and you were worried Dad was going to ground you for life. I'd ask Danny to read over it, but he's not speaking to me right now- something about 'inappropriate interrogation techniques' during our last case or something like that. Anyway, hope you're well.

I'll call you soon- I promise.

Steve

PS: here's my letter:

 _Dear Emily,_

 _Considering the circumstances, the decision was made to not prosecute you for assault and no charges have been filed. You are welcome to write me at the address on the business card that Sgt. Lukela gave you. I am currently recovering from injuries relating to another case._

 _Steven McGarrett_

 _Commander, Hawaii Five-0 Task Force_

From: marymainlander

To:

Steve,

Omg, you big goof, you can't send her a letter like that! 'considering the circumstances' and 'no charges have been filed'? The whole thing sounds like a boring form letter. She's a kid- make it informal. And she's scared- be friendly. Pretend you're writing me: 'Hi Emily, Thanks for your concern' or 'no need to be worried.' Also- she's worried about you. Let her know you're ok. She doesn't need to know all the gory details, but at least tell her _something_ so she knows you're alright.

Also, about the phone call? yeah, I'll believe that when it happens.

See you for Christmas- maybe.

Mary

From:

To: marymainlander

Mary, Do you realize how hard it is to type with one hand? I can't wait until this stupid cast comes off and these stitches come out. Good news for you- I'm stuck at home on doctor's orders and have nothing better to do. So, here's a revised draft:

 _Hi Emily,_

 _I'm fine. My arm didn't get pulled out of joint and no cracked skull, so you don't have to worry. I was injured in a different case last week and ended up in the hospital for a few stitches- nothing major._

 _You also don't have to worry about being arrested. It was a mistake and I'm partly to blame since I didn't have my badge. The only people who know what happened are you and my partner, Danny Williams. No one's going to come looking for you with an arrest warrant, so please don't stress about it._

 _Feel free to come by and visit the office again when you're able to. Danny and I can give you a full tour._

 _Take care,_

 _Steve McGarrett_

There. How was that?

Also, I did call you. Yesterday. Promise fulfilled.

Steve

From: marymainlander

To:

It's not perfect, but much better! You almost sound human. Although you're clearly lying about your injuries: in a cast and stuck at home on doctor's orders? yeah, that sounds like you're 'fine' to me.

Speaking of: accidentally calling me because your arm is in a cast and you punched the wrong thing on your phone doesn't count. I want a real phone call. With my brother. Before Christmas. And you'd better talk for more than 3 minutes.

Mary


End file.
